OBJECTIVES: To determine whether absorption coefficients of the livers of patients with secondary hemochromatosis, when measured serially, can indicate increasing or decreasing iron loads when such patients are undergoing chelation therapy. METHODS EMPLOYED: Secondary hemochromatosis with its effects on the liver and heart is the principal cause of death currrently in patients with thalassemia and other congenital anemias. Use of long term therapy with chelating agents attempts to decrease this iron load in these subjects. Critical to the evluation of this therapeutic trial is the total iron body load, previously measured by serial hepatic biopsies. Computerized tomography of the liver provided absorption coefficients in patients with excessive iron stores, an average absorption coefficient far above the normal liver.